Squarespace is one of the most popular ecommerce platforms right now. In fact, as of 2022, they’re the 4th most popular content management system (CMS) with over 2.9 million live websites using their services and holding around 4% of the market share.
The Brief History of Squarespace
Squarespace launched back in 2004, making it a whopping 17 years old. Created in the dorms of the University of Maryland, Squarespace started as a sort of “do it yourself” drag and drop website. It saw major growth after its initial launch, and was even being able to secure Super Bowl advertising spots from 2014 to 2018. Fun fact: Squarespace’s 2017 commercial won an Emmy for Outstanding Commercial!
As of right now (2022), they’re the 4th most popular CMS website, with over 2.9 million live websites using their services (most of the live websites located in the USA), and a 4.3% share of the market. Actually, the active websites in the top 1,000,000 is just around 1%. Some of those famous websites include Southern Methodist University, Skyscanner, and BiblioCommons.
Squarespace is a paid
That’s a brief history of Squarespace to impress your loved ones! That’s what normal people talk about at dinner, right?
Squarespace Cost Layout
So how much is Squarespace exactly? Don’t worry, we weren’t just going to skip over the part where we mentioned Squarespace is a paid service. Their payment plans range from $14 a month to $49 a month
The personal Premium plan
The Personal premium plan is their lowest price point at $14 a month when paid annually. This level offers a free custom domain for one year, SSL security, unlimited storage and bandwidth, unlimited products, SEO features, their library of templates, two contributors, mobile optimized web pages, 24/7 customer support, basic website metrics, and access to Squarespace extensions.
Is the Personal plan right for me?
The personal plan is best for those who desire a personal website. While it does not allow selling, it still gives the owner access to amazing templates and other great amenities. This may be your best bet if you are looking to run a blog or portfolio, and the cost of Squarespace will be worth it in the long run.
The Business Plan
The premium business plan is Squarespace’s most popular pricing plan, sitting pretty at $23 a month when paid annually. The business plan not only offers all of the same amenities included in the personal plan, but other features, as well! This plan will give you access to all personal features, an unlimited number of website contributors, a professional Google email address, access to premium integrations and blocks, a complete customization to your webpages because you can access the CSS and JavaScript code, advanced website analytics, $100 worth of Google Adworks credits, promotional popups and banners, a fully integrated ecommerce store, the ability to sell an unlimited amount of products, and you can accept donations (woot).
Is the Business plan right for me?
The business plan may the right plan for you if you are looking to sell products online. In our opinion, it’s best for smaller and new businesses that only have a few products to sell, or aren’t sure how many things they’re going to sell (no shame in your game, we’ve all been there). However, it’s important to note that there is a 3% transaction charge on every sale you make.
The Basic Commerce plan
The basic commerce plan is $27 a month when paid annually. This offers everything included in the personal and business plans, as well as zero transaction fees, point of sale tools, customer accounts, an online checkout from your domain, powerful ecommerce analytics and merchandising tools, and the ability to sync your Facebook account, permitting you to tag your Instagram posts.
Is the Basic Commerce plan right for me?
The basic commerce plan is best for those looking to set up a fully fledged ecommerce site, such as stores with a lot in inventory or more established businesses.
The Advanced Commerce plan
The final and most expensive plan Squarespace offers is the advanced commerce plan, which is $49 a month when paid annually. When you choose the advanced commerce plan, you receive all of the features offered in the personal, business, and basic commerce plans. You get additional amenities, including abandoned cart recovery tools, the ability to create gift cards, the ability to sell subscriptions, access to advanced shipping features, superior discounts for the customer that you’ve programmed, access to commerce APIs, and even limited availability labels. While it may be the most expensive, it is definitely not lacking in ammenities.
Is the Advanced Commerce plan right for me?
The main focus of the advanced commerce plan is to grow your sales as a business. This plan is ideal for anyone looking to majorly boost their sales. However, it is our personal opinion to start small and build a following base before going to the best package. But if you’re a big spender with a big ol’ dream, we certainly aren’t going to stop you!
FAQs
Is Squarespace free?
Unfortunately, no, Squarespace is not free. Each of their packages are paid. However, they do offer a
How much does Squarespace cost?
Squarespace has a variety of price points you can choose from. The personal plan is $14 a month when paid annually, the business plan is $23 a month when paid annually, the basic commerce plan is $27 a month when paid annually, and the advanced commerce plan is $49 a month when paid annually.
Which Squarespace payment plan is right for me?
That all depends on exactly what you’re looking for out of Squarespace. For example, if you’re a blogger or looking for a good portfolio website, you may want to consider their $14 personal plan. However, if you are looking to sell a wide variety of goods and require a lot of amenities, you may want to go ahead and splurge on the $49 advanced commerce plan.
Does Squarespace require me to purchase web hosting?
If you simply don’t feel as if you want to renew your custom domain after the first free year, no worries! All of the Squarespace packages come with fully managed cloud hosting.
How do I accept payments on Squarespace?
Squarespace is partnered with Stripe, a company that accepts all major credit cards. After a customer purchases from you, your funds are sent directly to your credit card. However, if you’re using Squarespace’s basic commerce plan, they will take a 3% cut as a transaction fee.
At What Cost?
Looking at Squarespace immediately brings up the concern: How much is Squarespace?
You’ve got to spend money to make money, and the cost of Squarespace certainly balances out the cost of trying to set everything up blind. Squarespace costs are well worth the investment, so let them help you invest in your business.
